The threat was looming today of the biggest council strike ever seen in Coventry.

The city was facing the prospect of an almost complete shutdown of council services in the row over single status pay.

Angry union leaders have warned that key staff such as care workers, cemetery staff, dustmen and even gravediggers could be called out on strike.

In the past people in these vital services have been exempted from action. But the mood of union members, who are facing huge cuts in their salaries, is so strong that the only people guaranteed to work would be those involved in ?life or death? situations.

The warning came this afternoon as unions representing all council staff prepared to send out strike ballot forms. Members of the powerful Unison, T&G, GMB and Apex unions are all voting.

Thousands of workers are involved and a decision to strike would potentially cripple services across the city.

The row over single status pay erupted last year when council bosses announced that the pay of 1,500 people would be reduced by as much as #8,000 a year.

Even though around 2,000 other workers will get pay increases, the issue has caused widespread anger.

Today union officials stressed the mood of workers.

Neil Swatman of Coventry?s Unison branch said: ?These people work tirelessly to provide the public services we all rely on and we have a duty to get a package that works for them.

?The council clearly doesn?t care about its workers, but we do.?

It is normal policy for councils facing a strike threat to ask unions to exempt certain categories of workers and in the last significant council strike, about three years ago in a row over a national pay dispute, a number of services were spared from action.

Mr Swatman said his union still had a policy of maintaining life or death services but all other services were under threat.

There was real anger, he said, because the council had until 2007 to implement salary changes but had

decided to enforce the changes in June this year. He said he hoped the public would back the council workers in any action they take.

?We call upon not just our members, but the Coventry community as a whole to support our fight to stop the imposition of this package.?